S
SpottyDog
Guest
Stripes On Tour
Previously on Spottys holiday
1.The night before
2.The Journey
3.Me first full day
4.Thered better not be any queues
5.We've time fer a coffee
6.Yesterday, we went to EPCOT
7.MGM
8.Wet n Wild and Bomas
9.Kennedy
10.Chef Mickeys;Gatorland;Boggy Creek Airboats;Disney Quest
11.Clearwater Beach via Busch Gardens
Now this is more like it!
Sun ,sea and sand. Just like Scarborough, really.
Ah didnt get a chance to talk to yer yesterder. Packin took forever.
Why?
Were only away two nights. And the traffic from Busch to here was horrendous but were here safe and sound and eventually and ahve fallen in love with the place immediately.
Ahm sittin here on the balcony of our corner view room at The Econolodge (thanks to Keith and Carol for recommendin it and for all the help and encouragement you gave V in plannin this mini-break) and its truly idyllic. Waves lappin the shore and the sun comin up over the back of the hotel. Theres a crane (ah think) just sittin off the shore bobbin about. No sound ,other than the seagulls and the waves.
So ,
yesterder.
She packed a full case for two days???!!! And we set off along the 14 Busch Gardens bound.
We got there and parked for 10ish and I took The Boy on Gwazi for our first Dad and Lad ride of the holiday. We seriously love this ride and giggled the whole way round.
Dads drivin ,so we strategically headed for the Hospitality Room next so ah could absorb the free beer as early as poss. We sent the kids into the food queue while Mam and Dad went for the beer. The bars are closed till 1pm on Sundays due to some stupid local law so we just had food. But ahm not local so why should the rule apply to me?
Ah wanted to get me big rides out the way before the park got busy so ah sent them off to see me Hippo while ah went to dangle me feet on Montu. This was me favourite last year but me nerves have obviously taken a beatin since then coz I was terrified all the way round this one. Ah think it was summat in Frances report about the belt comin undone- or the thought it might whatever, I didnt enjoy this one bit. Bit of a wuss really and was glad to get off alive.
Ah met the family, gazed at me Hippo and was still glad to be alive.
We set off for Rhino Rally but they announced it was down as we approached so we turned to find summat else.
It was hotter than wed ever had to contend with and, looking for shade, we dived into the ice show at a Moroccan temple as you would. This was a very pleasant surprise and another reason to visit Busch. A nice mix of video, puppets and ice-show was thoroughly enjoyed by all.
It was after 1pm now, so we took the scenic route to get Dads free beer.
Julie, in particular, was wiltin with the heat now and we headed for the Tidal Wave next to cool her off. They did the Congo Rapids after that but the queues were so long it took them 90 minutes to get those two rides under their belts. Rhino Rally was runnin now but without the water section so we decided to leave that till we come back on Tuesday.
We didnt fancy finding Clearwater beach in the dark so we bade a fond farewell to BG and set off for pastures new.
The route looked easy enough as long as we didnt miss our exits and, with only one unforced error, we found our way towards Clearwater City without too much trouble. On the approach to the city limits, the road forked and we made the natural choice to keep right only to see the bypass left sign too late. The 60 minute drive through the downtown area is a lesson learned for future reference. Id never appreciated the American block system for their roads before and still dont! Every road was intersected by a set of traffic lights and the traffic joinin from the right was causin tailbacks which , in turn, prevented forward traffic from enterin the next lane even when the lights were green. Ah was a tad frustrated and engaged in a bit of well-meanin road rage after 50 minutes or so! (that means ah meant it. Get out me way or youll die!)
We made it uptown, eventually, and without any nice American pullin a gun on uz. We timed it just right in the end, really. The sun was goin down as we made our way over the Memorial Causeway bridge into Clearwater Beach and it was a beautiful sight and a really great start to our Beach adventure.
Ah managed to negotiate me first two American roundabouts (Go right, go right!) without too much bother and we were soon cruisin the beachside looking for The Econolodge. Easily found and quickly checked in, we were a little overwhelmed by the view from our room.
V had spent nearly as much time planning this Clearwater trip as she had the whole 3 week once in a lifetime-again holiday. Shed scoured the internet and picked Keith and Carols brains to bits, gleanin every bit of info she could.
The Econolodge had met all her criteria perfectly on the beach, reasonable price and offer sea views. Its 20 yards from the shore, has balconies and shed got us a corner view room with a picture window that overlooks the inlet and Sand Key Park on one side and looks onto the gulf of Mexico on the other.
Perfect.
After a while of walkin back and forth from the balcony to the picture window comparing the views, we took the kids down to the pool so they could splash about while we had a couple of drinks overlookin the shore. We sat and looked left towards the twinkling harbour and hotel lights and right to sea, watchin the odd cruiser potterin back into the marina. There was a live band at the Shephards beachside bar next door and they were very good.
Did I say it was perfect?
After an hour(ish) we set off to find summat to eat and ended up in an English pub. Now whatever you might think of uz, ah normally avoid these tacky places like the plague but there was nowt else on offer and they were advertisin their own special real ale !!!! Big Bens (dead quaint name init?) was a delight inside. A proper pub with proper locals blockin yer way to the bar so ah had to stand on me tiptoes and squeeze in where ah could to get served. Made uz feel quite homesick. Well, sick of waitin to get served anyhow.
The Big Ben Ale was well worth it, mind, and ah told V this break had been one of her better ideas.
Our server, Heidi, was a bit over the top gushy but we couldnt fault her for attention and kind assistance. The food was great, as were the surroundins. The landlord came over, seein the boys footy top, and introduced himself and his pub. We asked if hed heard any scores and he recounted those he could remember and disappeared. Back five minutes later, he completed all those scores hed not been able to remember. Top lad, ahll have another pint, please.
He told us there was gonna be a karaoke soon and he hoped wed join in. One more of these Big Ben Ales and ah just might, bonny lad!
Heidi returned with our pub grub. Id gone for the mixed grill, V & J had selected Pork dinners coz they were missin their gravy and mash, and Gaz, bein Gaz, had fish and chips. Mind, ahve never seen so much fish on one plate- he must have had five pieces . Well, he had four and Dad had to have one to try!
When Heidi brought the meals she was very apologetic. They had a new chef and he wasnt used to British cuts of meat and had prepared one lamb dinner and one pork, would we mind? Or would we prefer to wait while he prepared another pork?
V was happy with the lamb, Heidi was happy we were ok with it and Dad was delirious coz Heidi said shed get HIM a free Bud for Vs trouble!
Ah think ahm gonna move here and marry Heidi!
The whole event was wonderful and we even enjoyed the karaoke for a while- but I think that was the beers fault. (and no, I didnt spoil the night by singin)
Back to our room, we checked from all angles that the view was still as lovely as ever and it was.
One unexpected bonus bein out of Disney was real telly- not just Disney channels. Once we wrestled the remote from Julie, we settled down to enjoy the end of The Great Escape. V tells uz ah missed it (Steve McQueen got stuck in some barbed wire and Mac gave the game away speakin English) cant think why (me fallin asleep,not Mac speakin English)- must have been all that drivin.
Its 9am now and ahve enjoyed sittin here on me balcony chattin to yer with the seagulls and other wildlife chatterin away as the sun comes up over the hotel. The troops are ready and were off to find a dolphin cruise, which was the reason V wanted to come here. Ahll report back later. Maybe we could meet on the terrace by the pool later?
Ah think ah like it here.
Previously on Spottys holiday
1.The night before
2.The Journey
3.Me first full day
4.Thered better not be any queues
5.We've time fer a coffee
6.Yesterday, we went to EPCOT
7.MGM
8.Wet n Wild and Bomas
9.Kennedy
10.Chef Mickeys;Gatorland;Boggy Creek Airboats;Disney Quest
11.Clearwater Beach via Busch Gardens
Now this is more like it!
Sun ,sea and sand. Just like Scarborough, really.
Ah didnt get a chance to talk to yer yesterder. Packin took forever.
Why?
Were only away two nights. And the traffic from Busch to here was horrendous but were here safe and sound and eventually and ahve fallen in love with the place immediately.
Ahm sittin here on the balcony of our corner view room at The Econolodge (thanks to Keith and Carol for recommendin it and for all the help and encouragement you gave V in plannin this mini-break) and its truly idyllic. Waves lappin the shore and the sun comin up over the back of the hotel. Theres a crane (ah think) just sittin off the shore bobbin about. No sound ,other than the seagulls and the waves.
So ,
yesterder.
She packed a full case for two days???!!! And we set off along the 14 Busch Gardens bound.
We got there and parked for 10ish and I took The Boy on Gwazi for our first Dad and Lad ride of the holiday. We seriously love this ride and giggled the whole way round.
Dads drivin ,so we strategically headed for the Hospitality Room next so ah could absorb the free beer as early as poss. We sent the kids into the food queue while Mam and Dad went for the beer. The bars are closed till 1pm on Sundays due to some stupid local law so we just had food. But ahm not local so why should the rule apply to me?
Ah wanted to get me big rides out the way before the park got busy so ah sent them off to see me Hippo while ah went to dangle me feet on Montu. This was me favourite last year but me nerves have obviously taken a beatin since then coz I was terrified all the way round this one. Ah think it was summat in Frances report about the belt comin undone- or the thought it might whatever, I didnt enjoy this one bit. Bit of a wuss really and was glad to get off alive.
Ah met the family, gazed at me Hippo and was still glad to be alive.
We set off for Rhino Rally but they announced it was down as we approached so we turned to find summat else.
It was hotter than wed ever had to contend with and, looking for shade, we dived into the ice show at a Moroccan temple as you would. This was a very pleasant surprise and another reason to visit Busch. A nice mix of video, puppets and ice-show was thoroughly enjoyed by all.
It was after 1pm now, so we took the scenic route to get Dads free beer.
Julie, in particular, was wiltin with the heat now and we headed for the Tidal Wave next to cool her off. They did the Congo Rapids after that but the queues were so long it took them 90 minutes to get those two rides under their belts. Rhino Rally was runnin now but without the water section so we decided to leave that till we come back on Tuesday.
We didnt fancy finding Clearwater beach in the dark so we bade a fond farewell to BG and set off for pastures new.
The route looked easy enough as long as we didnt miss our exits and, with only one unforced error, we found our way towards Clearwater City without too much trouble. On the approach to the city limits, the road forked and we made the natural choice to keep right only to see the bypass left sign too late. The 60 minute drive through the downtown area is a lesson learned for future reference. Id never appreciated the American block system for their roads before and still dont! Every road was intersected by a set of traffic lights and the traffic joinin from the right was causin tailbacks which , in turn, prevented forward traffic from enterin the next lane even when the lights were green. Ah was a tad frustrated and engaged in a bit of well-meanin road rage after 50 minutes or so! (that means ah meant it. Get out me way or youll die!)
We made it uptown, eventually, and without any nice American pullin a gun on uz. We timed it just right in the end, really. The sun was goin down as we made our way over the Memorial Causeway bridge into Clearwater Beach and it was a beautiful sight and a really great start to our Beach adventure.
Ah managed to negotiate me first two American roundabouts (Go right, go right!) without too much bother and we were soon cruisin the beachside looking for The Econolodge. Easily found and quickly checked in, we were a little overwhelmed by the view from our room.
V had spent nearly as much time planning this Clearwater trip as she had the whole 3 week once in a lifetime-again holiday. Shed scoured the internet and picked Keith and Carols brains to bits, gleanin every bit of info she could.
The Econolodge had met all her criteria perfectly on the beach, reasonable price and offer sea views. Its 20 yards from the shore, has balconies and shed got us a corner view room with a picture window that overlooks the inlet and Sand Key Park on one side and looks onto the gulf of Mexico on the other.
Perfect.
After a while of walkin back and forth from the balcony to the picture window comparing the views, we took the kids down to the pool so they could splash about while we had a couple of drinks overlookin the shore. We sat and looked left towards the twinkling harbour and hotel lights and right to sea, watchin the odd cruiser potterin back into the marina. There was a live band at the Shephards beachside bar next door and they were very good.
Did I say it was perfect?
After an hour(ish) we set off to find summat to eat and ended up in an English pub. Now whatever you might think of uz, ah normally avoid these tacky places like the plague but there was nowt else on offer and they were advertisin their own special real ale !!!! Big Bens (dead quaint name init?) was a delight inside. A proper pub with proper locals blockin yer way to the bar so ah had to stand on me tiptoes and squeeze in where ah could to get served. Made uz feel quite homesick. Well, sick of waitin to get served anyhow.
The Big Ben Ale was well worth it, mind, and ah told V this break had been one of her better ideas.
Our server, Heidi, was a bit over the top gushy but we couldnt fault her for attention and kind assistance. The food was great, as were the surroundins. The landlord came over, seein the boys footy top, and introduced himself and his pub. We asked if hed heard any scores and he recounted those he could remember and disappeared. Back five minutes later, he completed all those scores hed not been able to remember. Top lad, ahll have another pint, please.
He told us there was gonna be a karaoke soon and he hoped wed join in. One more of these Big Ben Ales and ah just might, bonny lad!
Heidi returned with our pub grub. Id gone for the mixed grill, V & J had selected Pork dinners coz they were missin their gravy and mash, and Gaz, bein Gaz, had fish and chips. Mind, ahve never seen so much fish on one plate- he must have had five pieces . Well, he had four and Dad had to have one to try!
When Heidi brought the meals she was very apologetic. They had a new chef and he wasnt used to British cuts of meat and had prepared one lamb dinner and one pork, would we mind? Or would we prefer to wait while he prepared another pork?
V was happy with the lamb, Heidi was happy we were ok with it and Dad was delirious coz Heidi said shed get HIM a free Bud for Vs trouble!
Ah think ahm gonna move here and marry Heidi!
The whole event was wonderful and we even enjoyed the karaoke for a while- but I think that was the beers fault. (and no, I didnt spoil the night by singin)
Back to our room, we checked from all angles that the view was still as lovely as ever and it was.
One unexpected bonus bein out of Disney was real telly- not just Disney channels. Once we wrestled the remote from Julie, we settled down to enjoy the end of The Great Escape. V tells uz ah missed it (Steve McQueen got stuck in some barbed wire and Mac gave the game away speakin English) cant think why (me fallin asleep,not Mac speakin English)- must have been all that drivin.
Its 9am now and ahve enjoyed sittin here on me balcony chattin to yer with the seagulls and other wildlife chatterin away as the sun comes up over the hotel. The troops are ready and were off to find a dolphin cruise, which was the reason V wanted to come here. Ahll report back later. Maybe we could meet on the terrace by the pool later?
Ah think ah like it here.
?) in pitch blackness!
